Tag: True Love

The first dharma talk of the Understanding Is Love Retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh at the European Institute of Applied Buddhism in Waldbrol, Germany. The talk is given in English with consecutive translation into Dutch. In this talk on August 20, 2014, Thay teaches on feeling joy and happiness and on True Love. Both the audio and the video are available below.

August 16, 2013. 82 -minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario during the 2013 Nourishing Great Togetherness teaching tour. This is the fifth dharma talk for the 6-day retreat with the theme Happy Teachers will Change the World.

June 12, 2013. 102-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from the European Institute of Applied Buddhism in Waldbrol, Germany. The talk is given in English with consecutive translation into German. This is the first dharma talk of the German Retreat on the theme Are You Sure?

Following two chants by the monastics, the talk begins at 12-minutes into the recording.

We begin immediately with the concept of dualist thinking and Right Thinking. How do we see the interconnection between things? For example, between happiness and suffering or all the elements of a lotus flower. The lotus is made of non-lotus elements. A good gardener knows how to make good use of the mud just as a good mindfulness practitioner knows how to make good use of her suffering. The goodness of suffering. When you understand suffering then understanding and compassion arises – the foundation of happiness.

From the Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing, we have exercises handed down by the Buddha to help our practice with suffering.

Generate a feeling of joy

Generate a feeling of happiness

Recognize painful feelings

Calm down the painful feeling

Mindfulness is an energy that helps us know what is going on in our body and our feelings. How do we bring relief to our painful feelings and emotions?

Three kinds of energies we should try to generate: mindfulness, concentration, and insight.

Four elements of True Love and being present for those we love. Taking care of our suffering and our live we can learn to take care of the world.

June 8, 2013. 91-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from the European Institute of Applied Buddhism in Waldbrol, Germany. The talk is given in English with consecutive translation into Dutch. This is the fourth dharma talk, a session of questions and answers, of the Dutch Retreat on the theme Understanding Our Emotions.

Following two chants by the monastics, the questions begin at 15-minutes into the recording.

Question about the Third Mindfulness Training as it relates to sexual behavior and consumption. How can we integrate and explore our sexual behavior as true love or as consumption?

Another question on true love. Can true love exist between every person I meet and in every relationship even after a relationship ends? Is there something else or can I cultivate true love for every person?

One of the four elements of true love is inclusiveness. How do I combine love and career choices?

In my relationships, I’ve always had a difficult time committing and my partner doesn’t feel I am there for her. What can I do?

I like the statement of being able to always generate a feeling of joy. This hasn’t been my experience and so I need help knowing more about generating joy.

Question about the First Mindfulness Training especially in regards to compassion and relieving the suffering of animals, especially for those who are dependent on us. Is it okay to end the suffering of an animal?

June 7, 2013. 106-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from the European Institute of Applied Buddhism in Waldbrol, Germany. The talk is given in English with consecutive translation into Dutch. This is the third dharma talk of the Dutch Retreat on the theme Understanding Our Emotions.

This talk begins a few minutes into the recording and we listen to two chants from the monastic sangha. The main talk begins at 16:49 on the recording.

We begin with some history on the Plum Village monastic community. Though most monastics ordain for life, we also hear about the 5-year monastic program. What is the process for becoming a monastic? There are four aspects to monastic life: to study, to practice, to work, and to play. The monastics seek to find joy in all these aspects. We cultivate brotherhood and sisterhood. If you’re under forty, you may want to try monastic life in our 5-year program.

So far in this retreat we have only spoken of negative and destructive emotions. But there are also constructive emotions such as lovingkindness and compassion. They are very powerful emotions that have the power to heal and transform. True love is made of four elements:

Lovingkindness (maitri) – friendship.

Compassion (karuna)

Joy (mudita)

Equanimity or inclusiveness (upeksha)

On the other side we have emotions such as fear, anger, despair, and discrimination. This is the kind mud that can help grow the lotus of the four kinds of love. We can come to understand the nature of our own suffering. The Buddha has also spoken on nourishment – “Nothing can survive without food.” – your love also needs to be fed or it will die. The Buddha taught on the Four Nutriments.

May 27, 2013. 69-minute dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh from Hong Kong Coliseum. The sangha is on the spring Asian Tour and this talk is given in English with consecutive translation into Chinese. This is the Public Talk.

Thay has a few questions to ask the audience and the questions might touch something very deep in you and provide you with insight to see the way to go. Allow the question to penetrate into your heart.

Are you in love?

Are you still in love?

Do you want to reconnect with the person you used to love?

Do you think that he or she is happier than you are now?

Do you have the time for each other or are you both to busy?

Have you been able to preserve your freshness and beauty for yourself and for the other person?

Are you capable to offer him or her freshness and beauty everyday?

Do you know how to handle the suffering within yourself?

Are you able to help handle the suffering in the other person?

Do you understand your own suffering and the roots of that suffering?

Are you able to understand the suffering in the other person?

Do you have the capacity to help the other person suffer less?

Have you learned the way to calm down your painful feelings and emotions?

Do you have the time to listen to yourself, your suffering, your difficulties, and your deepest desire?

Do you have the time to listen to him or her and help him or her to suffer less?

Do you know the Buddhist way of restoring communication and bringing about reconciliation?

Are you capable of creating a feeling of joy and happiness for yourself?

Are you capable of helping the other person to create a feeling of joy and happiness?

Do you really think you have a clear spiritual path to go?

Do you have the feeling of peace and contentment within yourself?

Do you know to nourish your love everyday?

Have you ever met a person who is truly happy?

During the most recent retreat at the YMCA camp in Hong Kong, we learned about walking meditation. How can we arrive with every step in the here and the now. We also learned how to breatha and sit in order to transform our suffering. In order to understand and recognize the suffering in ourselves and the other person. We only need a short time of practice to gain understanding.

What is compassionate listening and loving speech? How can we create reconciliation?

Making the Five Precepts relevant to our time. The precepts and noble eightfold path are based on the insight of Right View and allow you to transcend all discrimination.

The first training is protecting life. The second is about true happiness. Next we have true love. We’ve already touched on deep listening and loving speech, the subject of the fourth. The last training is about consumption. We cover the Four Kinds of Nutriments.

June 16, 2012. 99-minute dharma talk by Thich Nhat Hanh from Upper Hamlet in Plum Village during the 21-Day Retreat with the theme The Science of the Buddha. The talk is given in English and this is the eleventh dharma talk (of 15).

Four (six) Mantras of Love (45-minutes)

Darling, I am here for you.

Darling, I know you are there and it makes me happy.

Darling, I know you suffer.

Darling, I suffer, please help.

(This is a Happy Moment.)

(Darling, you are partly right.)

The last one is new and for when someone congratulates or criticizes you.

—

Perception and our mind. Subject of cognition and object of mind. The mind can be both the observed and the observer.

Three parts acting together. The notion of superposition. Three but one.

The observer

The observed

Consciousness

The third part is the base, the foundation, for the observed. Thay has used the example of a piece of paper. The first two are the right and left side and the third is the paste (the paper itself). The third part has many names – different types of consciousnesses. For example, store consciousness.

We are mindful of your privacy. This website uses cookies to improve your user experience and help us deliver better content to nourish your mindfulness practice. To read more about the cookies we use, please view our Privacy Policy.AcceptDenyPrivacy Policy